An Unlikely Master: Part 3
by The Dark Lady Chaos
Summary: Tom is tired of jumping this stupid case, but if it'll make Harry shut up he'll do it until he's flying in his sleep.


Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Harry Potter. That lovely world belongs to J.K.

He leaped toward the other side of chasm like his life depended on it. Which if he thought about it too long it generally would. But Tom was quickly coming to accept that as Master of Death, he had many perks, the cloud of death that hovered above normal mortals happened to be one of the things he escaped, even if it meant spending time with the infuriating boy— man that controlled that cloud.

"Come on Tom! You're supposed to be a genius! A prodigy! Fly. Fly!"

Harry's shouted calls and yells at him from the other side of the chasm only served to waver his focus and he flailed his arms in what he would later say was a graceful cut-off gesture, but was really just an indistinct movement.

"Tom! If I have to go over there and save your arse again I'll change your award in the Hogwarts trophy room to apprentice of Dumbledore."

Tom's famous patience waned away immediately at that, but his stubbornness skyrocketed. He flew. Catching himself from his free fall halfway down the darkness and hovering, he sighed in mild relief that he wouldn't have to make the jump once again. He looked up at the lighter colors of day above him and froze.

"Harry…."

"What?" Harry shouted.

Tom shouted back, "I said, Harry."

"Is that all?"

Tom huffed. "No! I was trying to say, Harry, I don't know how to go up."

"What do you mean you don't know how to go up, you idiot? Didn't you teach your death eaters how to fly?"

"Don't call me an idiot P—Harry. That's different magic. The theory behind this is completely different!"

"It's not hard!"

"For you! How long have you had to practice brat? I can't be like, oh, just do it!"

"Of course you can! C'mon Tom, follow Nike's example. Just do it."

"That ridiculous muggle brand that you insist on parading around in is not an example to be followed! Give me something I can actually go off of. What does it feel like."

"Uh, light. And weightless."

"Can you come down here so we don't have to shout?"

The green eyed boy popped into existence next to him the second after he spoke.

"You've flown with me often enough to know what it feels like!"

"Yes, but you have done it far longer and I have a hard time holding onto what the feeling actually is."

Harry laughed slightly, fondness shining through, and held his arm out to him and smiled.

"Here, hold onto me, I'll fly you up and you can capture that sensation again."

Tom frowned. "Didn't you say things you associated with something life threatening would give motivation to learn? And I don't know about you, but I consider being stuck somewhere forever unless I can get out life threatening."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, but if giving you the sensation and putting you in sketchy situations increase your learning rate, we'll do it."

Harry waved the arm he was offering to Tom more insistently.

"Alright…"

Tom took it.

Harry smirked, "I'll be sure you capture the feeling of it alright."

Tom eyed the smaller man suspiciously.

"What are you—shit! Harry!"

They shot up into the sky without mercy and flew, the smaller of the two hell bent on reaching the clouds at mach speed. Tom decided that once he had mastered this skill he would ensure that his perfection of it would outmatch Harry's.

—

Tom clenched heavy eyes and groaned at the splitting pain in his arm. He rolled over and yelled out hoarsely as sharp pain ran up his arm, and opened his eyes in time to see his bone snap back into place and he bit down on his tongue to avoid shouting once more. He looked up further and saw Harry, green eyes concerned.

"I'm sorry, I should've realized that people would recognize you in this time. She cursed you almost right after we landed in this time I didn't see her in time."

Tom turned his head gingerly to meet the furious eyes of a tied up 60 year old Ginerva Weasley. He looked back up at Harry and realized suddenly that the only part of the smaller that looked like Harry were his eyes. Inwardly he thanked Merlin that the youngest Weasley girl couldn't recognize the smaller man, but snarled slightly when she turned doll eyes onto Harry in what seemed to be yet another of her numerous attempts to charm the smaller man into releasing her that had happened when he'd been unconscious. He had to admit, with great reluctance, that she was rather good at mixing facts and lies into half truths. But he quickly found himself getting distracted by the sweet smile she was practically throwing at Harry, who sounded utterly too bored and calm dealing with this idiotic unfortunately well aged woman with dolly eyes. He glared darkly at the red head and took great satisfaction when she recoiled slightly after he'd managed to catch her eye. He then then shoved himself gracefully up to his feet when she had the audacity to glare back. Standing up seemed to have been a mistake though, because stars popped into existence in front of his eyes and his knees gave out on him halfway. Through the insane amount of will and stubbornness that he was always told he possessed, he stopped himself from crashing down and stood up straight. His legs definitely wouldn't last long, it would take long for his blood to replenish, and he felt rather boneless. His glare intensified as he slipped the rest of his emotions behind his occlumency shields.

"Is there a reason you decided to curse me Miss Weasley?"

The girl snarled. "You're Voldemort," she spat the name out like it was poison, "you know very well why Riddle!"

Tom saw Harry step back behind him slightly and he took that as invitation to take control.

"That sentence is contradictory. If I am Voldemort I am not Tom Riddle, and vice versa."

"They're the same person, and you know it!"

"You keep saying 'I know' these things. I do not, specifically because they are false. Because to answer your other abhorrently wrong statement," he glanced at Harry before facing Ginny again, "perhaps Voldemort and Tom Riddle were the same once, but they have since been untangled and separated."

Ginny opened her mouth again but Tom found he was rather tired and pointed his wand at her. A green light exited his wand and the youngest Weasley's eyes dulled and she slumped forward in her bonds. He looked at Harry.

"When I was sixty-one Ginerva Weasley was found dead in an abandoned alley down Diagon" Harry gestured with an amused smile, "guess I know where my wife got off to now."

Tom gave Harry a startled look.

"She's dead. Do you not care that I killed her?"

Harry laughed, and Tom managed to give him a concerned stare after he'd shaken himself from his incredulity. Finally the smaller man managed to cut off his laughter.

"Oh Tom! Honestly, I am Death. It's been centuries since I last saw her, I moved on a long time ago, and she's going to a good place. After all, 'Death is but the next great adventure.'"

Tom rolled his eyes.

"I should stop being surprised. Did you just quote Albus bloody Dumbledore to me?"

"I don't think his middle name is bloody. But speaking of! Here!"

Tom took the vial of blood replenisher from the smaller man with a wry smile.

"Ah yes, you didn't tell me that I could still get hurt."

"I didn't tell you you couldn't either!"

Tom snorted, he swore that he was rubbing off on the man. He knocked back the potion.

"Come on brat, let's go get those ingredients you wanted."

Harry grinned at him, and dispelled the privacy ward that he'd had up. Tom rolled his eyes but let himself be dragged behind as Harry pulled them cheerfully out of the alley and up Diagon.

AN: Third one shot in this series! Reviews are appreciated, thanks for reading!


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